Okay, I was out for a baby sail today, just five panels up, though I could have carried another panel easily.  The THP was rigged from the throat, round the mast, through a block on batten two, and then down with one half-turn round the mast, to the block at the foot of the mast.  I also rigged 4mm dyneema HK parrels on panels 3, 4, 5, (from the top).  The sail set fine, and the HK parrels actually didn't seem to have much to do!  It all looked good to me.  In smooth water, with not too much wind, the boat sailed very well, and tacked in stately but certain manner.  Sailed off and back onto the mooring without any stress (on me) at all.  A brilliant rig, it seems to me ..... !  I guess I might put HK parrels on all the panels later: but the key to the matter seems to be an effective throat/batten two parrel.

I have been studying the way the THP is rigged on Broremann ( in "peaking up the junk sail").  The rope goes from the throat of the yard, round the mast and through a block on the end of batten number two.  But where does it go them?  Directly to a block at the foot of the mast - OR - does it first take a turn round the mast before reaching the block at the foot of the mast?

Okay, at the weekend I will try a parrel connected to the throat, and rove through a block on the third batten from top.  I will also rig a 4mm dyneema HK parrel on panels three and four from top.  But what is the correct sequence for rigging the HK parrels, once I have hoisted enough sail to access the battens on either side of panels three and four?  Do I, first, take-up on the yard parrel and the throat parrel and, then, rig the HK parrels?  Is that the correct sequence of operations? 

Iain,
for some reason your experience does not surprise me ☺...

I guess the combination of THP and YHP will do away with most of the diagonal creases, most of the time. However, you may find that the THP needs tweaking when you vary between upwind and downwind sailing (tauter THP upwind). This is where the HK parrels may come in and gently keep the creases away (98 – 99% of the time), as on my Johanna. If you decide to give the HK-parrels a try (Panel 3 and 4, from top should do), I suggest you use a line which does not stretch  -  what about 4mm Dyneema?

Anyway, good luck!

Arne

It seems that the success of the throat hauling parrel (THP) alone, to replace the Hong Kong parrels, varies from boat to boat and rig to rig. I think that small differences in aspect ratio, mast rake and general sail planform (full fan style versus Hasler-McLeod style), and also sheeting angle, seem to affect the set of the sail.

I, like Graham, still have the HK-parrels rigged, but they only play a secondary role after I learned more about the use of the combination of THP and YHP, and after moving the slingpoint of the halyard about 5% (of the yard’s length) aft of the middle.

However, if one looks at old pictures of real junks from Hong Kong, it is easy to see that the HK parrels are taking high loads, bending the stout battens upwards, quite a bit. That is no problem, as long as the battens have been built to take the load.

(click on it to enlarge) 

Arne